Miami Heat Trade Rumors: Would Hassan Whiteside Deal With Portland Trail Blazers Work?

Miami Heat trade rumors were expected to surface early on in the 2016-17 NBA season, especially after the team failed to re-sign former MVP Dwyane Wade. Even NBA analysts didn’t expect the Heat to be this bad, though, but Miami has fallen to 9-18 and 13th place in the Eastern Conference standings. The Heat have a worse record at home than on the road, giving fans further frustrations with the current roster. Now a lot of murmuring has started about possibly blowing up the roster and starting from scratch.

The biggest asset getting mentioned in Miami Heat trade rumors is center Hassan Whiteside. He just signed a four-year contract extension during the offseason, giving a team control over him for a bit longer. That makes Whiteside a valuable asset on the trade market because a new team wouldn’t just be using him as a rental. For another team to acquire him, though, any deal would come with a very hefty price tag. It’s also something that Heat president Pat Riley has to consider when teams call about a possible trade.

On the surface, a good trading partner may already exist, as the Portland Trail Blazers match up very well with the Miami Heat. The problem for the Blazers is that the team doesn’t have enough protection around the rim and has struggled to get second-chance points from offensive rebounding. Adding Hassan Whiteside could make the team a true contender in the Western Conference, rather than simply a playoff team that will have to beat either the Golden State Warriors or San Antonio Spurs in the first round.

The Blazers could also deal guard C.J. McCollum, who offers a skill set that is redundant with what point guard Damian Lillard already does for the Blazers. McCollum is the type of player who could bring excitement to Miami Heat games, possibly giving the team a scorer to build around. While the general managers of both teams would need to work out the finer details of a swap like this one, the Blazers and Heat could probably pull off a deal like this with very little negotiating.

Through 28 games this season, C.J. McCollum is averaging 22.4 points, 3.7 assists, and 3.6 rebounds per game. He is also shooting 47.9 percent from the field, a number that is very impressive for anyone playing a guard position. While losing him would be a hit for the Portland Trail Blazers offense, he might be the only asset (other than Damian Lillard) who could land Hassan Whiteside in a deal.

Blazers fans hearing about these Miami Heat trade rumors may balk at having to give up McCollum in any deal, as he is an important cog in the offense. The defensive stats that Whiteside puts up every night could help to sway those opinions. Through 27 games this season, Whiteside is averaging 17.4 points, 14.7 rebounds, and 2.3 blocks per game. His rebounding numbers rank as the best in the NBA so far, showing how valuable he could be to an offensive-oriented team like the Portland Trail Blazers. On Friday night (Dec. 17), he had 11 points and 17 rebounds against the L.A. Clippers.

Hassan Whiteside is signed through the 2019-20 NBA season, with escalating salaries that reach $27 million in that final player option year. C.J. McCollum is under contract through the 2020-21 NBA season, with similarly escalating salaries that don’t include any player options. If the teams felt that the players were of equal value, an easy one-for-one trade could be made due to the similar salaries. With the opportunity to run free in a new offense, McCollum might even exceed his current lofty expectations.

It is expected that the Heat will deal Goran Dragic at some point during the 2016-17 NBA season, leaving very few assets to play with Whiteside. Many analysts have already written off the team for the next few years, so maybe it is time for Pat Riley to deal Dragic, Whiteside, and any other veteran that can fetch younger assets on the open market. Fans of the team should certainly expect many new Miami Heat trade rumors as the February deadline approaches, especially if the team continues to fall in the standings.

[Featured Image by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images]